Drupal Performance & Tuning Tips

Site performance is essential to garner leads and potential clients. Sometimes updates are required to achieve this. However, if the site is still not performing at its optimal speed or at the level it should be performing at, then it may be time for a tune-up. Developers and site managers can overhaul their Drupal-based sites by having a plan. Here are a few tips to get started:

Plan by Clarifying Performance Goals

Before developers can deliver a site that performs well for its users, it’s important that they clarify what they need their site to achieve. Clarifying performance goals is an essential part of any performance and tune-up. Consider the needs of the end user when identifying goals for performance. For example, if users need to be able to have a site that loads fast, then it’s important to make speed a performance goal. By narrowing down what the site needs to achieve for its end users and stakeholders, developers can streamline the performance and tuning process.

Evaluate Resource Consumption

The bandwidth, memory, disk output and input, and central processing unit use will be different for every site. Thus, it’s vital to assess how much each of these core resources consume. This can be done by reviewing how the site performs as it loads. Developers should consider using a site performance module to help monitor consumption. Paying attention to factors such as anonymous page views, unique reads, and bandwidth can provide developers a better understanding of how well their sites load. Knowing how much each of these aspects consume can be critical for enhancing the site’s performance.

Assess for Deeper Issues

When working with Drupal, what may seem like the central issue may be a symptom that is masking an even deeper problem. It’s important to take a closer look at any underlying issues when conducting a performance and site and server tune-up. Modules can be useful for assessing performance of the site during various stages, including when the site is being developed and when the site goes live. For example, the Drupal Devel module provides features that developers or admins can use to identify site performance issues, such as how much memory is being used when pages load. Analyzing issues thoroughly can also help developers configure their stack for optimal site performance. This includes being able to identify any obstacles to improving site performance, such as spam that using up a large amount of resources. After finding these bottlenecks, developers can fix the issue with site configuration tailored to improve the site’s performance. Developers should also consider level-based performance tuning, including server architectures and PHP tuning. By leveraging modules, developers can “deep-dive” to evaluate site and server performance.

Final Thoughts

After installing an updated version of Drupal, it’s vital to make sure that it’s working at its full potential. That’s why it’s key to implement performance tuning that ensures required Drupal features are working. Get this accomplished by following these tips. Developers can also leverage help from professionals who are versed in Drupal and offer performance tuning, management and hosting services, such as Contegix. Developers who leverage the help of a knowledgeable Drupal team can save time on performance and tuning to provide users with an enhanced experience.